Wavy

Finished the Wavy Snarf today. It knit up very quickly and is so soft.

Currently....

My fingers got incredibly sore from the slippers so they are going to have to wait until I buy bamboo needles in the size and length I need. The aluminum ones are making me feel like I have the hands of an 80 year old.

So I started the wavy scarf from Stitch N Bitch Nation. I used the creamy colored soft delight yarn with two strands held together and so far it looks nice and feels even better.

I also need to get myself going on Ember's birthday present. I'm kind of torn between two things and I'm afraid of screwing up either one.

My Yarn Stash

That's most of my yarn stash, I still haven't discovered any better way to store it, but I did rearrange it and baggie it by color. At least now I can see how many different textures and styles I have in each color instead of just having it sorted by brand/style.

I definitely need new baggies, so we'll be off to the dollar store soon to get some baggies and snacks to make it through our organizing day.

So the slippers didn't get done....

The slippers didn't get done in time unfortunately, but the viewing ended up being a day earlier than I thought it would be, so they'll go in the mail with some papers I have to send my aunt.

On the way back home, I stopped to get my mom a book she was trying to locate for a friend and ended up buying myself Stitch N Bitch Nation, I felt like I deserved a little treat. I looked through it today and found confirmation that the other drop stitch scarf I tried to make was wonky. At least I don't feel so crazy now.

I need a better solution for storing my yarn stash. As soon as I transferred it to a new container it was already at the top, so my additional purchases are still sitting in a bag. I'd also like to make them decently accessible but not necessarily in the spot they are now. Later this evening I think I'll lay them all out take some pics and then try to get them packed up better. I'm also hoping to finish the slippers tonight so I can maybe start on something else. The only other thing I have going right now is a needle case that is going take forever since it's just 3 feet of stock that I have to felt.

Slipper Fun

I made my slipper and it is so freakin cute, not to mention incredibly soft.


I started the second one last night and will hopefully finish it tomorrow. My uncle died today and since I will be going back home presumably this weekend, I would like to be able to take my aunt a pair of slippers as well. It's not a lot of consolation, but hopefully it will give her a little bit of snuggle.
When I gushed about the sale at hobby lobby today, Erik handed me a 20 and sent me off to the store. I bought some more of the slipper yarn and also what I needed to make Ember's Birthday present.

And on to the current projects

Now I'm working on slippers. I found a pattern here and since I'm afraid of double pointed needles, I was happy to find a two needle version that would seam up nicely.
So I dug into the stash for some of last years left over red heart and set about making a test model. Although my guage was right, something somewhere went a little wrong. I ended up with a cute looking little shoe, but definitely not the size or stretchiness it was supposed to be.


I didn't seam it up all the way, but you get the general idea. Somehow mine ended up looking like a colorful wooden shoe.

So I decided to use some different yarn (Yarn Bee Soft Delight Fushia), knit a little more loosely, and use 9s instead of 8s. So far it's looking like it's going to be one comfy slipper for someone. Hopefully it will be for me instead of my daughter.

I'm also going to make this when I can afford the yarn for it. I love the green and it looks so comfy!

My mother in law requested a sweater from Hip Knits for her birthday (September), so once she picks her colors and I have the money, I will definitely be starting that. It uses a super bulky yarn, so hopefully the hardest part will just be understanding the pattern. I really like the garments in the book, but I'm really not fond of the way they are displayed. All the patterns are written in a paragraph form and I'm a line by line girl. Give me the stats and I'll go for it. No need for rewording or making a pattern look like literature... it should look like some cryptic math.

And lastly, a birthday present (May) for Ember. I have the plans all drawn out and the math finished, I just need to purchase the yarn and a longer circular needle.

Erik's Imperial Logo Hat

I used Lion Brand Jiffy Yarn True Black 1 Skein, Natural Cream 1 Skein
Size 9US Needles


Guage 24 st/ 28row = 4"


Rows 1-6: Rib (k2, p2)
Begin Stockinette
Row 7: knit
Row 8: purl
Begin Pattern:
1: 34B, 8W, 34B
2: 32B, 12, 32B
3: 30B, 4W, 3B, 2W, 3B, 4W, 30B
4: 29B, 3W, 5B, 2W, 5B, 3W, 29B
5: 28B, 2W, 4B, 8W, 4B, 2W, 28B
6: 27B, 3W, 2B, 12W, 2B, 3W, 27B
7: 26B, 24W, 26B
8: 26B, 2W, 1B, 8W, 2B, 8W, 1B, 2W, 26B
9: 25B, 2W, 2B, 8W, 2B, 8W, 2B, 2W, 25B
10: 25B, 2W, 2B, 3W, 2B, 3W, 2B, 3W, 2B, 3W, 2B, 2W, 25B
11: 24B, 2W, 2B, 3W, 4B, 2W, 2B, 2W, 4B, 3W, 2B, 2W, 24B
12: 24B, 2W, 2B, 4W, 12B, 4W, 2B, 2W, 24W
13: 24B, 2W, 2B, 5W, 10B, 5W, 2B, 2W, 24B
14:24B, 2W, 2B, 6W, 8B, 6W, 2B, 2W, 24B
15: Repeat ROW 14
16: Repeat ROW 13
17: Repeat ROW 12
18: Repeat ROW 11
19: Repeat ROW 10
20: Repeat ROW 9
21: Repeat ROW 8
22: Repeat ROW 7
23: Repeat ROW 6
24: Repeat ROW 5
25: Repeat ROW 4
26: Repeat ROW 3
27: Repeat ROW 2
28: Repeat ROW 1
Continue Stockinette until 8 inches long ending on purl
Begin descrease
knit 2 tog through row
purl row
knit 2 tog through row
purl

*If I did this again, I would probably decrease another row but I had stitches so I stopped*

cut off substantial tail of yarn to pull through loops and seam



Click the thumbnail to view full chart

Up Until Now....

Ember taught me how to knit this last fall, and for once it seems I have stuck with a hobby. I learned to crochet when I was 10, and continued doing it off and on until I learned knitting. I could never pick up crocheting enough to make anything other than scarfs and small blankets, so I'm pretty impressed at how well I've done with knitting and moved beyond those two projects.

The first thing I made was a scarf for Aeslin. Plain ole garter stitch scarf, it's not the most attractive thing, but if she ever gives it up, I'll probably hole it away somewhere as a point of reference. I've made the kids each scarfs and hats and the first nicer thing I made was a scarf for my friend Steff. Unfortunately I don't think I ever took any pictures of it, or else I'd post those for reference as well.


After making Erik a scarf (which he rarely wears), I decided to make him a hat.... and one he would actually wear. I found some Star Wars charts, but nothing he liked, so I had him make me one. Our first attempt was an interesting one. The chart was way too big and I was trying to adjust a hat pattern to go with it. We ended up with a gigantic hat that looked like it belonged on King Kong or some other appropriate sized primate.



Since the logo itself was too big, I ended up cutting the hat short (which really didn't help any) and it just made it look all crumpled at the top. And after giving myself a chart reading break, I had Erik make a new downsized chart which worked out a whole hell of a lot better. I made my own pattern for the hat based on the way he wanted it to fit him, and that made both of us happier. He's actually worn it other than when I took the pictures. In fact he wore it around the house for a few days after I made it.



I'll post the pattern and the chart in a different Entry for anyone who wants to use it. I'm quite sure my husband isn't the only Star Wars geek out there.

I haven't really made anything else that was too substantial. I made my mother in law a scarf to match her new winter coat, and have also made some scarfs out of some random yarn I had purchased.





this one worked out so fun, i just played with the number and stitches and needle sizes until it worked out into something that looked happy and since the yarn is so funky, it didn't really matter how many times I frogged it.

This bag was unfortunately my own pattern and I set myself up for way too much seaming, so the very last handle hasn't been sewn on yet because I'm quite tired of looking at it.


Made with Lion Brand Chunky.... little less than one skein.

Since I'm now on to projects I'm currently working on, or plan to start when I have the money, I'll put those in a different post.